Oregonian-you bore me

Imagine my dismay when, today-which is Tuesday-I opened the Sunday paper and there was a huge missing piece. Chelsea Cain, where are you? Every Sunday (or Tuesday for that matter) I look forward to reading you. See, I kind of have an author crush on you. I feel abandoned and lost without your for this week. Please, please please show up in print next weekend. If not, it may be the icing on top that makes me cancel my subscription and switch to the NY Times.

May Accomplished

Whew. The month of May had several things requiring planning and attention to detail. My catastrophic thinking was really in full gear. I was sure, just sure, something dreadful would happen. To most reasonable, calm people (everyone but me) my list is not daunting. But to me? Bring on the Chamomile and Lavender tea ("eases tension, stress, and nervous stomach"). Ambien or Xanax might have been nice, but tea sufficed. In very particular order, I completed a marathon, threw Chloe a tea party, had Jake's birthday, hosted a wedding shower, organized a Brownie troop gathering, started working the Farmer's market, and saw Chloe go off to a Brownie camp overnighter. During all this, we had a few open houses to boot!

The marathon was an adventure. I ended up doing my long runs solo for about 8 weeks. For many, I would piece together meeting people along the way to keep me company. I was super lucky to have willing friends to run anywhere from 6-10miles during my 22milers. The bonus run was meeting up for a bookclub brunch immediately following an epic long one. Anyway, on my mom's birthday, we headed for Eugene with a car packed with 3 children and gear. Nathan had soccer tryouts so he and Brian held the fort down here in P-town. We missed them! I was still in catastrophy mode so really tried to be calm and pratical about driving, dining out, and walking. It was a challenge, but man oh man is it easier to be "normal!" We had a lovely birthday dinner and then took the kids to the hotel swimming pool. Beck was fearless in the water. I'll leave it at that. Saturday morning we went to the marathon expo and pancake breakfast. It should have been named Sausage Feed, as the kids pretty much ate sausage and syrup. I overpurchased gu's, powerbars, e-caps, and clif blocks, but wanted to have many an option come raceday!

That evening we went to one of my bff's house for dinner. What a lifesaver. Sandy literally had our entire group (8 of us) over. We had pasta (suprise) and after everyone was sufficently wine and beer'd up (excluding me, though!) enlisted Sandy and my dad to cut my hair. Prerace tradition.

Saturday morning was perfect conditions. Cool and clear. Pete, Matt, Jake, and I headed for hayward field by 6am. I was really trying hard not to cry out of fear of lonliness on the run. So many what ifs! It was strange to do a race on my own. Usually I am in with someone, either as *their* person, or as a buddy, but not on this day. I had to call my mom back at the hotel right before the start and of course was crying on the phone. That's good prerace anaerobic warmup! I also got a nice text from my daily running buddies (all three!) I spoke with nice lady at the start and she was very calming to me. Before we knew it, we were off and running. The run started next to Hayward Field and meandered through many a neighborhood. The first mile was a bit uphill, or at least it felt like it! I knew things were going to be okay when I heard ABBA's Dancing Queen blaring from a boombox within the first mile! Ahhh, off to a good start. I was running alongside a scissorbill with a 3:45 on his back-hmmm, was a he a pacer or a nut? After sticking with him, he started acting crazy and running here and there. Nut. Around mile 3 or four, I heard another great song that I love so felt pretty darn good. My pace was ahead of, well, ahead of what I would expect. I did not have a pace or time goal so was thrilled to be feeling good at a sub 3:45pace. My focus was to keep my breathing in check, not freak out, and enjoy seeing my peeps at mile 9. Thankful for technology, I had to make a quick call to my mom, as my water bottle from my rambo pack leaked and my shorts were starting to be really wet. The nethers were going to be cold soon. However, I missed them at mile 9 and they had to beat cheeks to get to the halfway point! I swear we ran by Autzen Stadium half a dozen times. It was so frustrating to be all over that place, yet never get real close! Sara Sitter was spectating! yay! After going across the river, around Autzen a bazillion times, and through MORE neighborhoods, I found myself in the same stride as another "lost soul." Turns out Julie and I were both running without our running/training partners so we glommed onto each other. I had a moment of stress as I didn't want to slow her down, but she kept me going. She's a rockstar. So we ran and ran from mile 14 on. Pete joined in at mile 17 and he kept us totally entertained. I have to say, that not once did I stop running. That is very unusual for me. I love to stop and take a walking break, or tie my shoe, or stretch. Yup, not once. I did accidentally steal someone else's gleukos drink, though and will forever be sorry to one Martina who didn't get her drink! Around mile 23 Sandy and her cute family were watching and it was a thrill to know we were so close and that I had made it that far. Julie and I were counting the half miles down as we went through a park and crossed the river two more times. Did you know that when you cross a river you have to go a bit uphill? oh my god, seriously, it hurts! Our last crossing took us straight to....Autzen Stadium! Pete was a love and took my water bottle rambo pack. Voila! I felt so light that I kind of took off running. I was so ready to be done. As soon as I crossed that finish line I decided that I really did not need to move much more. Julie and I hugged and went with our respective families. It felt way faster than my time showed, but to have arrived, run, and finished without any major incidences was a success for me. Major May event completed.

A Long and Winding Road

Remember when you were a child and something fun or exciting was on the horizon? A vacation, birthday party, or even getting new shoes. The time seemed to go by so slow and it was all you could think about. Sleeping was impossible, and the parents were easily worn out of the twitter. I fondly remember one summer evening in 1977. It was the night before a family adventure, my best friend Laurie was spending the night, and we had on new summer nighties that matched. We could barely contain ourselves so my parents took us for a nighttime drive in the green and white convertible Karmann ghia. The night smelled fresh, the crickets were chirping, and the sky was clear, dark, and twinkling with the August celestials. Laurie and I tilted our heads up and let the soft wind dance across our faces and weave through our hair. The moment took us away to far away places. For half an hour, our hearts and souls belonged to that sultry August night.

Accepting Ourselves

Why, oh why do I have some tendencies that repeat themselves even after complete denial? I am taking to step to accept my tendencies as part of my "character." Black sweaters, white cotton, European kid shoes.....
Yesterday I was combing various places for china tea-cups/saucers for a teaparty. En route to the back of the "big" Goodwill (which is relatively clean) I find myself staring at 3 black Banana Republic sweaters. One was a merino wool turtleneck, one was a cardigan, and the other was a cute longsleeve t-style. Do I need them? noooo, I don't. They were even the wrong size but I fell in love. Tags attached and everything. Luckily I went through a 12 step over it and walked on. It was so natural to stop and look! I firmly believe that there are things in our lives that we seek comfort in....the familiarity of an item. For me, I could have an entire closet of black shirts-long sleeve, short sleeve, turtleneck, crew neck (no v-necks, I don't care for them as much) tunic style, sleeveless, thick, paper thin, and so on. I do not tire of them. In fact, I have a lone red 3/4 length sleeved top in my closet. I rarely wear it. Too bold.....not really, but it stands out too much. I've worn it only a small handful of times. I prefer my black tops. Same goes for white. That could be my second row in the closet. So there, I am no longer going to deny the fact that one cannot have too many black or white items in the closet. I feel better already.

Faster Than the Speed of Light

aka "Thank you for feeding into my PMS, Tri-Met Bus Driver."
Dear hairy driver of bus #75, thank you so much for the 10seconds of anger, followed by a passivist version of a car chase. Seriously, when you blew by me and went through the red light, just to get ahead of ALL the cars lined up did you feel better? Did your boy parts, which are obviously inadequate, get the charge they needed? Well mister, I got a charge too. The way you did that move, which was stupid, made my PMS surface. I had kept it in check all day. ALL DAY! Thankfully I did not have my foot riding the gas pedal, ready to take off, because we would have skimmed each other. Knowing the company you work for, your hind end would have been off scott free and you know this. You most likely did not notice that I continued to follow you...wait, all 22 cars were forced to follow you because you stop about every block......just to find the opportunity to give you the bird. Now, I tell you that I feel quite adequate about myself but it would have really been satisfying to give you mama stink-eye with a nice, firm bird. Lucky for you there was an equally annoying mini-van driving so slow, that getting anywhere near your little driver window was slim so I could only send you muddy mama mojo. I hope you felt it as you drove your bus along the line. In fact, you have a really outdated advertisement on the side of that bus. So there Mister Hairy Bus Driver.

p.s. Mister Hairy Bus Driver, you are also lucky because I know someone that rides that line and she may pay her fare in pennies real soon. REAL SOON, pal.

I am ducking and running now, there is a hershey bar with almonds in the freezer.

Book Club

It has been a long while since experiencing the "ideal" Saturday. Really, what makes an ideal day is so different for everyone. For some, sleeping in is ideal and for others shopping or watching movies all day. No matter what, we all should have a day that makes you flutter with happiness.
My day began simple enough but I knew I might have a real adventure on my hands. I wanted to do a long run and had a time frame to follow. Up early, I met one of my running buddies for loop number one. After she was done I roped Brian into beginning loop two and picked up another friend along the way. She ran with me for a bit then I was on my own. Af first I was leary of the road ahead, but found the peace and quiet a welcome reprive from my long week. Of course I wrote many a blog entries (which have yet been entered, let alone remembered!), replanned my closet, wrote a mental letter to the school district and so on. Trekking back I was anxious to shower and head to book club. Coffee was calling my name.
After parking in front of the cutest house ever, I swiftly made my way to the front door. Quick hugs and hellos then a mug of hot coffee was all I needed to relax and look forward to the next few hours. We discussed The Memory Keepers Daughter. A very thought provoking, yet predictable book. I really enjoyed this book, as it brought a feeling of peace while reading it. It was as if the author intended her readers to take a calming breath and read nice and slow, absorbing the words as the story unfolded. The group was split on the likability of the book.
We savored an onion galette, a fritatta, fresh fruit, scones, crepes, coffee, and of course chocolate and mimosas. It was decadent to say the least. After a 3+hour jaunt outside in the morning, the breakfest and relaxation was all I needed to feel refreshed. It was, in my book, a perfect day.

Women in History

Last Friday was the Women in History day at the elementary school. My friend Ruth and I were the Pankhurst Sisters. I was Christabel and Ruth was Sylvia. We were suffregettes. The day started with an all school assembly followed by classroom visits ALL DAY! There was a nice group of women portraying amazing women in history. We each had to give a 2 minute speech in front of the school......sounds short but it feels long! Ruth and I decided that we had to speak with a British accent for the speech and the classroom presentations. Wow. What a day. My head has cleared quite a bit in the short amount of time following, but it was such a fun and rewarding day coordinated by a really nice woman. The kids at the school were very polite and asked great questions. Kids are truly clever and smart. Ta-ta, pip-pip, cheerio!